Pond Boss
Posted By: Dilley Kill snakes or letum go? - 11/09/20 12:23 PM
I'm not a fishery just a fishing pond so I know that the balance of nature is sometimes very important. That being said I have this rather large northern diamondback water snake that lives underneath my floating dock where my fish feeder is.

It's pretty unnerving when I go out to fill the feeder up because he/she doesn't spook and just watches me through the cracks of the boards. Curious if there is any value in having it around?

I pulled up my blue heron decoys so that I'd get some birds that would hopefully nab him, but I think he's too big already. Now I have a blue heron and a huge water snake...
Posted By: RAH Re: Kill snakes or letum go? - 11/09/20 02:40 PM
I leave my snakes alone. They are harmless and part of the biodiversity that helps keep the environment healthy.
Posted By: Quarter Acre Re: Kill snakes or letum go? - 11/09/20 03:23 PM
Non venomous snakes have there way at my place, but the copperheads and the rare rattlers...not so much.
Posted By: Steve_ Re: Kill snakes or letum go? - 11/09/20 09:49 PM
Originally Posted by Dilley
I'm not a fishery just a fishing pond so I know that the balance of nature is sometimes very important. That being said I have this rather large northern diamondback water snake that lives underneath my floating dock where my fish feeder is.

It's pretty unnerving when I go out to fill the feeder up because he/she doesn't spook and just watches me through the cracks of the boards. Curious if there is any value in having it around?

I pulled up my blue heron decoys so that I'd get some birds that would hopefully nab him, but I think he's too big already. Now I have a blue heron and a huge water snake...

Do you know exactly what species it is? There's an Eastern Diamondback and a Western Diamondback, but not a Northern Diamondback. Neither species are particularly classified as "water snakes" either. If you can determine that it's not venomous, I'd leave it alone.
Posted By: anthropic Re: Kill snakes or letum go? - 11/09/20 11:07 PM
If you're sure it's not venomous, I'd leave it alone. Unless you swim in that area!
Posted By: Dilley Re: Kill snakes or letum go? - 11/10/20 01:11 AM
Originally Posted by Steve_
Originally Posted by Dilley
I'm not a fishery just a fishing pond so I know that the balance of nature is sometimes very important. That being said I have this rather large northern diamondback water snake that lives underneath my floating dock where my fish feeder is.

It's pretty unnerving when I go out to fill the feeder up because he/she doesn't spook and just watches me through the cracks of the boards. Curious if there is any value in having it around?

I pulled up my blue heron decoys so that I'd get some birds that would hopefully nab him, but I think he's too big already. Now I have a blue heron and a huge water snake...

Do you know exactly what species it is? There's an Eastern Diamondback and a Western Diamondback, but not a Northern Diamondback. Neither species are particularly classified as "water snakes" either. If you can determine that it's not venomous, I'd leave it alone.

Oh it's not a rattlesnake. Unfortunately have plenty of those, but not in my pond they like to hang near my house and barn lol.

Northern Diamond-backed water snake is what I've seen it called. Maybe just a Diamond-backed water snake.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerodia_rhombifer

https://nature.mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/diamond-backed-watersnake

It's definitely what it is. I've been close enough to take a pretty good gander at him. Apparently they are often confused for cottonmouths and are actually very prevalent in TX.
Posted By: John Fitzgerald Re: Kill snakes or letum go? - 11/10/20 01:37 AM
I let them go. Hoping a cottonmouth will bite the GBH. grin
Posted By: MartinWill1989 Re: Kill snakes or letum go? - 11/10/20 11:01 AM
I have the same problem, they still like to crawl home and bask somewhere in a warm place. It's scary. But I don't kill them, I try to let them go somewhere further in the forest
Posted By: Theo Gallus Re: Kill snakes or letum go? - 11/10/20 11:39 AM
We had a lot of snakes at our first pond until the LMB got big enough to eat them. I've never seen a snake at the pond since then.
Posted By: TGW1 Re: Kill snakes or letum go? - 11/10/20 11:53 AM
Originally Posted by Theo Gallus
We had a lot of snakes at our first pond until the LMB got big enough to eat them. I've never seen a snake at the pond since then.

I saw the same thing at my pond. Large lmb either eat them or the snakes learn not to get in the water.
Posted By: Bobbss Re: Kill snakes or letum go? - 11/11/20 02:11 AM
I've seen a few small Northern Watersnakes around the pond this year that were small enough that I could see a fair size LMB eating them. But I've also had one that was pretty big for a Northern Watersnake and if there is a LMB out there that is big enough to eat it, I'd love to catch it. Lol! It also didn't spook very easy. There was a few weeks that it would keep swimming up to just a few feet from my feet and trying to catch minnows while I was feeding. Then he stopped doing it but I would see him every now and then.
Posted By: Dave Davidson1 Re: Kill snakes or letum go? - 11/11/20 03:13 AM
I doubt that it is a problem but if it makes you nervous, eliminate it.
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